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Life cover and IP valued benefits for older workers

Income protection (IP) and life cover are particularly
valued employee benefits among workers planning to work beyond age 65, a survey
shows.

The poll from Canada Life Group Insurance found nearly
three quarters (71%) of UK employees intend to work beyond age 65 – up from 61%
in 2015.

Of those, two in five (37%) believe they will reach at
least their 75th birthday before they retire.

Among those expecting to work beyond the age of 65, seven
in 10 (71%) cited the rising cost of living as a reason.

More positively, three in 10 (30%) said they plan to work
beyond the age of 65 because they enjoy their job, while one in six (17%) said
they will stay in work to continue receiving valuable employee benefits.

In particular, IP (17%) and life insurance (16%) are
highly valued benefits for employees who are considering working beyond the age
of 65, while one in eight also appreciate the support of a critical illness
(CI) cover (13%) and one in 10 access to an employee assistance programme
(10%).

Paul Avis, marketing director of Canada Life Group
Insurance, said employers would do well to take note of the growing number of
workers planning to work beyond 65 because they find their jobs enjoyable and
rewarding.

“These people can be a good influence on the rest of the
workforce and employers should look at what cards they have up their sleeves to
retain them,” he stated.

Avis explained that IP and CI are increasingly popular
with employees planning to work beyond 65 because they
protect against ill-health and conditions which become increasingly likely
with age.

“With proper planning on employers’ parts, these benefits
can be provided with no medical questions for the vast majority of their
workforce,” he added.